Prometheus

Prometheus
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Ridley Scott (IMDB)

I can definitely say that this movie was in the top of my most anticipated films of the year. When I heard Ridley Scott was making a prequel to Alien I got excited, then I saw the trailer and got a boner. This movie has a lot of hype around it, now I'll tell you the truth about it.

Synopsis: Astronauts leave earth to trace the roots of mankind which takes them to a planet where they get more then they bargained for.

Where to start, this movie is absolute shit... I'm kidding it's not shit. I liked Prometheus, but I didn't love it. If you're going into this excepting Alien, you'll be let down. It's a lot different then Alien, which isn't a fault I suppose, but I guess I was hoping it'd be more like it. My favorite horror movies are ones where a group of people are trapped in a space and there's evil critters, zombies, aliens, whatever waiting to get in and kill them. You take movies like The Thing, Alien/Aliens, Dawn of the Dead and you'll see that motif beautifully executed. I really was hoping that Prometheus would follow that track... it didn't. It's really focused on the plot and getting down to where we as humans came from. It's an interesting story, but one that unfolds slowly and in my opinion never really resolves itself. It's a lot of build up, with little pay off. I would go into more depth, but I don't want to spoil anything.

I did love the cast, especially Michael Fassbender, Stringer Bell, and Charlize Theron, all were great. The effects were really impressive, and I like that they threw in practical stuff too. The scene involving the first encounter with the aliens is rad, and the fetus scene is amazing.

This is in theaters now and I would recommend it if you're into sci-fi.

The Bourne Trilogy

I finally saw the trailer for the new Bourne movie coming out this year, it stars Jeremy Renner and is directed by someone who isn't Paul Greengrass... I'm not too sure how I feel about it. The trailer doesn't look horrible, but I have a hard time imagining anyone else other then Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. Regardless, I picked up the trilogy on blu-ray recently and decided to give em a re-watch.

 The Bourne Identity
(2002) [Trailer]
Director: Doug Liman (IMDB)

Synopsis: Secret agent Jason Bourne awakes from a coma with amnesia after being rescued at sea and has to try and piece together who he is and what happened to him.

This is the maiden voyage for the Bourne series and sets the tone for all the others. It's suspenseful, trilling and loaded with solid action. Matt Damon really owns the character and does a great job with it. The fight scenes in this are incredible and do a great job with not getting bogged down or overly inflated... they're just quick and punchy and get right to the point. I never read the books for the Bourne series, and like I've said in the past on this blog, why would I now that they're movies? I know when this film came out a lot of people said the book was better, who cares... this movie does a fantastic job of taking a great story and bringing it to the big screen. I can say with ease, this is an extremely entertaining film and a must for action fans.

 

 The Bourne Supremacy
(2004) [Trailer]
Director: Paul Greengrass (IMDB)

Sypnopsis: Bourne and his boo are half way around the world and trying to keep low key when a turn of events brings him out of retirement.

This time around Paul Greengrass steps in to direct and does a brilliant job keeping the suspense at an all time high. A ton of people complained about the shaky cam feel of this when it came out, but those people are idiots. This style, when done poorly, can be annoying, but Greengrass is a master at it. The shaky cam lends itself to this film and it enhances the actions scenes, giving a personal feel to everything... almost like you're there filming it yourself. There's not much to criticize here, it's intriguing and nail biting stuff with lots of "what the fuck" moments... definitely worth a view if you haven't seen it.

 

The Bourne Ultimatum
(2007) [Trailer]
Director: Paul Greengrass (IMDB)

Synopsis: Bourne is back and still looking to unlock the secrets of his past.

This is probably my favorite of the three. Greengrass has fine tuned the series and delivers 100% on all the elements that made the other two enjoyable. Tangier was the highlight of the series for me, everything filmed there was just the best ever. I love the rooftop stuff and the jumping through windows shots were awesome, especially the last jump where the camera follows Damon through the window. The shaky cam is back and is effective as ever. There's also a lot of cool zooms and over head shots which were impressive. The resolution to Bourne's back story was finally delivered and seemed a decent way to tie up the story. I can't really see where the new movie is going to take  this series, I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Planet of the Vampires

Planet of the Vampires
(1965) [Full Movie]
Director: Mario Bava (IMDB)

Vampires are pretty hot right now. You got Twilight and True Blood and let's not forget... Lost Boys: The Tribe. These blood suckers captivate and enthrall us, to the point where people are into this. So I decided to jump on the band wagon and check out Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava's classic movie that has nothing to do with vampires.

Synopsis: A group of astronauts land on a mysterious planet.. they soon find out they are not alone.

I love Mario Bava and this film further solidifies that love. The direction on this is similar to other Bava movies and incorporates the use of lots of colors and great set pieces. This film is truly impressive for it's age and holds up nicely. As stated before, this isn't about vampires at all: it's more about space zombies, which are way cooler. The astronaut's costumes from this remind me of Ridley Scott's new movie Prometheus, I decided to give you a little side by side comparison HERE. I definitely enjoyed this movie a lot and hopefully they'll be bringing it to blu-ray soon so I can own a proper version, till then it's on Netflix instant for your viewing pleasure.